


Lost Boys

by TheNarratress



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Horizon: Zero Dawn Fusion, Hate to Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNarratress/pseuds/TheNarratress
Summary: Story is set in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. You neither need to know the game nor the story of it to read this two shot.YuGyeom had worked hard to earn his place on the training ground to participate in the upcoming Proving. When he started acting up, however, JinYoung and his friends,  Mark and YoungJae, start to investigate. They wouldn't have expected that this would lead to dangers and unexpected encounters.Main couple: JJ ProjectSide couple: BamGyeom
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam/Kim Yugyeom
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	Lost Boys

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone~
> 
> I hope you are alle safe and healthy. 
> 
> This is my post for this month's project for the GOT7 writers club. As April is Earth month the challenge was inspired by it. We were asked to come up with a story in which we actually messed up with the planet to a degree that it’s irrecoverable. This can include a world that came to be because of natural catastrophes, viruses, human neglect or even zombies. In short we needed to write a dystopian fic. 
> 
> Although I’m not that big on dystopian books to read I really like movies and video games that have a dystopian setting. One game that instantly came to my mind when thinking about the challenge was Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s a dystopian world I truly miss visiting and in all honesty I loved the idea of our boys fighting big mean robot dinosaurs ^____^
> 
> You do not need to know the game, the story of the game in order to read this two shot. Or at least I hope to do a good enough writing job that you do not need to know it. However, if you want and can pick up the game I highly recommend it.
> 
> You would make me very very happy by leaving me a short ‘Dinosaur’ in the comments to show that you read it. In any way, I hope you’ll enjoy this story.
> 
> Have a nice day and stay safe~
> 
> Narra

“YuGyeom-ah! This is not a game! Take this seriously! Stop that!” KyungHee yelled from the safety of a wooden observation tower on the edge of their village while keeping a keen eye on his six pupils below who try their best to train their respective weapon techniques on the muddy ground below.

JinYoung quickly looked past his straw puppet, on which he practiced his spear attacks, to glance at YuGyeom. The younger was nowhere to be seen on the practice ground. YuGyeom’s straw puppet was still unharmed and completely left alone. As the younger had put a heavy focus on his skills with a bow and arrows, one would maybe expect to see a few stray arrows around it as well but even that was not the case.This was odd. Very odd.

Quickly, JinYoung turned his head to see if the younger might be training behind him but he didn’t see him there either. His eyes wandered once again over the field of warriors in training. However, there still was no YuGyeom in sight. Did he run away?  
This would be quite unlike him. Especially since he fought so hard to be added to the training roster. He is currently the youngest member of the _Nora_ tribe to face the _Proving_ \- a tournament held in _Mother’s Heart_ to test balance of swiftness and strength against enemies. He had endured so much and trained harder than anyone else to earn his place on the training ground. To call himself a _Brave_ upon winning against all of Nora’s current warrior trainees in the tournament.

As the youngest of their small tribe, YuGyeom tried to prove that he was everything but the cute sweet little child everyone sees him as. He had been six years old when he first picked up a bow and arrow to practice. He’s good. Well… actually more that. His skill with bow and arrow is still unmatched by anyone in the whole tribe.

The tall grass on the edge of their training field suddenly caught his attention. The grass can be found all around the Sacred Land. It’s high enough to hide a person when crouched and is one of the simplest ways to avoid the machines that rule the lands outside of their village.  
With curious eyes watched JinYoung the red blooming tips of the grass that slowly swung in the wind. Something felt odd there. He wanted to take a step towards the field, however, KyungHee’s booming voice made him stop in his tracks.

“What are you doing, JinYoung-ah! Your enemy would have attacked you long ago. Focus!” KyungHee yelled, which made JinYoung turn his attention toward his straw puppet again.  
It’s body was already quite beaten and loose moldy smelling straw was loosely scattered on the floor. Signs of his piercing stab with his weapon of choice. However, compared to the others his puppet still looked rather fine. It still had all it’s arms and the head was still attached to it as well.

With a heavy sigh, JinYoung grasped his simple spear a bit harder than before and lifted it to hit his puppet once again. However, before he could strike a movement in the tall grass made him turn his attention away from his puppet. With squinted eyes he watched the grass slightly wave in the wind. Everything looks like it should. Once he convinced himself that all was okay and lifted his spear again to hit his puppet, an arrow was shot from the field and landed in the middle of the target that was attached to his straw puppet. An arrow that nearly missed him. Multiple arrows shot through the air shortly afterwards and most found their home in the bullseye of the targets on the multiple training puppets which made all the trainee’s instantly hold still. JinYoung had seen that some were almost hit by the arrows as well, however, no one was truly hit… which felt like a small miracle.

YuGyeom jumped up from his hiding place in the field and aimed with his self crafted bow for his own straw puppet. Before he could land that arrow in it’s straw filled body, however, KyungHee’s angry voice echoed over the training ground. Heavy steps were heard from the tower and soon the big muscular man, who was in charge of their training, strode across the ground towards YuGyeom.

“This isn’t a game!” KyungHee hissed through his gritted teeth and grabbed YuGyeom by his collar to lift him off the ground by a few inches. The younger visually looked taken aback by this and let his bow fall to the ground.

The trainees instantly started to move closer to their angry coach. Eager to hear every single word of this obvious scolding YuGyeom is going to get. JinYoung stayed where he was. Unsure if he should move closer and possibly help his friend or stay out of it. The decision, however, was taken away from him once he felt Mark’s hand wrap around his wrist and softly pull him towards their friend. Quietly, they stood next to the other trainees and watched. Ready to intervene if needed. And if courage would not fail him.

“You could have hit any of your cammerades! You could have hurt them!” KyungHee yelled.  
Everyone else would have caved in and apologized just by seeing the angry expression on KyungHee’s face. Let alone his tone of voice. No one questioned KyungHee’s training methods or even his scoldings. For many of them he was an idol as he had won the title of _Brave_ a few years ago during his own _Proving_.

Not YuGyeom though.

“But I didn’t hurt them, did I? I knew that I wouldn't hit them. If I would I wouldn’t have gone through with it,” YuGyeom said calmly and stared back at their coach without showing any regret or remorse. The grip of KyungHee’s hand around YuGyeom’s collar got tighter and even though this must have hurt YuGyeom, the younger did not flinch one bit.

“Reckless! It does not matter what you believe you were able to do or not. This could have hurt your colleagues. If this would have happened in a fight outside…”  
“If this would have happened in a fight outside I would have saved you all by doing this. What I did was what we should learn from you to do. Fighting in a practical manner. There is no use fighting…”  
“That’s enough. You’ve started overstepping lines quite a while ago but I tell you one more step and you will regret it,” KyungHee yelled while throwing YuGyeom to the ground. The younger hit the ground hard. The pain that resulted because of that was clearly visible on his face.

“You know what happens to people who pull off stunts like yours? Who risk hurting others or truly hurt them?” KyungHee asked while slowly leaning down.  
YuGyeom stayed silent which obviously displeased their couch. Instantly he straightened himself up again and glanced at the rest of his trainees. His eyes landed on JinYoung, which was also a silent demand to give him the answer to the question he just had asked.

JinYoung gulped before taking a small step forward. He took a deep breath before replying in a small voice: “ _Outcast_. People who disobey the laws of the _Nora_ tribe or hurt others will become _Outcasts_ ”

Pleased, KyungHee grins at JinYoung after hearing his answer before turning back to the youngest of the group.  
“You heard that, kid? Consider yourself lucky today. If you act reckless again there will be no next time”

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

“Can you believe that? Sure, it was dangerous but the way YuGyeom pulled it off... He’s getting better and better at this combat thing. He sure will be tough to beat during the _Proving_ ,” Mark said while strolling through the village with JinYoung after their training.

The sun was already setting behind the close by mountains and the sky slowly changed its colour from a clear blue to a deep red. Soon it’ll be all dark and only the lights of the fire lantern would lead them their way to their huts on the other side of the village. Before they could go to their homes and rest, however, their stomachs needed the well deserved evening meal that would be served in the middle of the village.

Everyone would get together and share a meal there every evening. The meal was usually nothing big. Reason for that is the way their tribe gathered all the ingredients. Their tribe frowned upon changing their environment which means that all food is either gathered by finding wild plants, hunting or fishing. Only during rare occasions, like the _Proving_ for example, different foods like bell peppers, corn and tomatoes are traded in and used in their meals.

JinYoung loved the food he was given every evening with or without traded in foods. The aromatic smell of various herbs and seasoned meat usually lingered for a few hours in the air. A smell that always made him feel warm on the inside. It was home.

The smell now guided the two young men towards the village center which was located on a slightly higher area than most of the houses. The village center was the one spot in the village where life happens. Multiple shops and work spaces were located there. The most important area there, however, was the food court. Multiple villagers have gathered there already. In front of some of them was an already filled plate. Others are still standing in line to get themself a good bite of today's meal. Chatter and laughter surrounded the two men when they got in line for their portions. The closer they got to the source of the delicious smell the louder JinYoung’s stomach started to rumble.

The two of them almost reached the end of the line when suddenly a young man put his arms around them. A bright smile graces his face.  
“What took you so long? I’m starving! Let’s eat!” the man said and pushed his friends quickly forward so they can grab a plate. The newcomer instantly started to jump up and down a little once he received his own plate in excitement .

JinYoung and Mark quickly exchange a quick look. They will tell their friend what happened during training. However, they were not sure if it was that bright of an idea to talk about it where others can hear about it as well. The other trainees will talk about it but those talks will likely only happen in their own small groups as well. They all might not be the biggest of friends with each other but loyalty between them existed. As long as they only talk in their groups consequences for any of them would be small to none. Or at least as long the _High Matriarchs_ don’t hear about it. KyungHee might have said that YuGyeom was lucky this time but if the _High Matriarchs_ hear about it… that might be different.

“Well, you know you could have eaten without us, YoungJae-ah. There was… training took a bit longer today,” Mark said while getting himself a nice piece of meat from the roasting place.  
YoungJae pouted at that but brightened up instantly once his plate got filled with today's meal.

“I don’t like eating alone. Plus, I don’t think the other healer trainees like me that much. They are not you either... so I would rather wait. Where is YuGyeom?” the younger asked and started to look around. JinYoung noticed how the other glances at the tables to see if their youngest was waiting there. Quickly, JinYoung shook his head and guided his friends to three free spaces on a table close to the fire. The warm air comfortably hugged JinYoung while sitting down which made him smile softly.

“YuGyeom had to stay a bit longer. He was a bit… off today. The past few days actually. Maybe he’s getting anxious because of the _Proving_? I’m sure he’ll join us later. How was your first day of being a healer trainee?” JinYoung asked in hopes to stirr YoungJae’s thoughts away from YuGyeom. With success. YoungJae instantly started to light up and explained to his friends what he had learned today. The younger had always prefered healing people instead of taking up arms to fight against the dangers outside. That does not mean he wasn’t any good with a weapon though.

JinYoung smiled happily listening to his friend who instantly became very passionate in his explanation of various herbs that would help if one got wounded during a battle or if one got a fever. After some time, however, JinYoung started to look around to see who else had joined them for a meal. It was then when JinYoung noticed a figure disappearing in the increasing darkness. The young man’s eyes followed the movement of the person. His eyes widened, however, when the figure moved closer to a torche and he finally recognized who he’s watching. It was YuGyeom. This was… odd. Why would the younger not join them for a meal? Had this to do with what happened during their training?

Instantly, JinYoung gestured to Mark to have a look as well. The elder quickly glanced down. At first he did not seem to see what JinYoung was pointing out to him but then he noticed YuGyeom too. Mark’s brow furrowed when he looked back at JinYoung.

“He’s not going home,” the elder stated in a low voice.  
“I know,” JinYoung said and glanced down again where YuGyeom ducked behind a wall to avoid two villagers who seemingly are on their way towards the village center. This was more than odd behaviour. JinYoung found no logical explanation why YuGyeom was acting like this. It almost was as if… the younger was hiding something.

“What are you looking at?” YoungJae asked them way too loudly for JinYoung’s taste which made him glare at the younger to make him fall silent again. That worked… even when it meant that YoungJae began to pout because of it.

YuGyeom on the other hand disappeared in the shadows of a building below at that moment which instantly made JinYoung jump up from his seat. He needed to know what the younger was up to. Something was not right and JinYoung had to know what’s going on. He wanted to rush towards the incline that led to the lower part of the village but before he could do so he was held back by Mark.

“Don’t you think we should…” he started but Mark interrupted him.  
“Slow down. Let’s bring our plates back and then go down. It’ll be suspicious otherwise,” the elder murmured to which JinYoung slowly nodded. The elder was right. Of course he was.

Grudgingly, he picked up his plate and put them on a table that was reserved for dirty utensils. The walk towards the incline was agonizingly slow. Not only were they purposely walking at normal speed to not look suspicious but also all the familiar faces they passed tried to stop them to have a quick chat.

After what felt like an eternity they finally reached the incline. Quickly, they walked downwards until they were standing on the pepply road on which YuGyeom was walking on only a few moments ago. Just like their youngest friend they kept themself hidden in the shadows which were now more frequent as the sun had finally fully set. Only YoungJae didn’t keep himself hidden in the shadows. He grumpily followed them with his arms crossed while mumbling loudly to himself. More than once did Mark and JinYoung pull the younger into the shadows so he won’t be seen as well.

“I don’t get it. Why are you acting that way?” he finally bursted out which earned him a harsh ‘shhh’ from JinYoung in return. Mark on the other hand was a bit more gentle with the younger and filled him in as to what they’ve just seen while eating dinner. YoungJae stared at his friends blankly before slowly asking: “so… we’re spying on YuGyeom?”  
“Something is not right. He’s been acting up for quite a while now and that stunt today… Something is up,” JinYoung said while quickly glancing around the corner to see if they can move forward. Mark nodded slowly as to agree with JinYoung. YoungJae, however, did not like that answer at all.

“So what if he has a secret? Don’t we all have one at one point or the other? I’m sure it’s nothing bad. It’s YuGyeom we talk about here. It’s not right,” YoungJae said but JinYoung shakes his head.  
“Something is off. I can feel it. Come on! Let’s go!” JinYoung whispered and ran toward their next shadowy hiding spot. Mark quickly followed. YoungJae followed as well but with way less eagerness than the other two.  
“I’m only following because I smell trouble on your part. Someone needs to be there who says ‘I told you so’,” YoungJae said and finally hid himself in the shadows as well.

The three of them hushed from shadow to shadow until they finally were able to see YuGyeom in the distance again. The younger moved slower than they did and while the three of them still sometimes quickly ran over the pebbled path to follow the younger, YuGyeom only walked in the grass to hide the sound of his footsteps. Clever.

After a few minutes the younger man reached the eastern wooden village wall that separates the village from the outside world. Nervously, YuGyeom looked around as if he feared to be seen or followed. The trio was safely hidden away behind a larger stone that was used as a signpost for the village. JinYoung had a clear view of YuGyeom. He expected the younger's sneaky journey to end there but to his disbelief the younger lifted a loose part of the wall that created a large enough entrance through which the younger disappeared through.

“He’s… gone,” Mark said while staring at the wall in disbelief.  
“Does this still look like nothing to you?” JinYoung asked YoungJae who quietly bit his lips.  
Quickly, JinYoung moved forward and began to inspect the wall. It didn’t take him long to find the loose part. He was about to go through that secret entrance as well, when he was held back by YoungJae.

“This is dangerous. We’re not allowed outside! Not until we’re fully trained. If we get caught…” YoungJae whispered.  
“Then we have to make sure we won’t get caught”, JinYoung said and smiled one of his mischievous smiles “I have my spear with me so I can fight. Mark has his weapon with him too. It’s okay when you want to stay here though. We’ll be back as soon as we can”

He tried to push himself through the opening but YoungJae’s grip hardened on his shoulder. JinYoung turned back to look at his friend. YoungJae, however, simply sighed and showed him the tripcaster that he had equipped as well.  
“You won’t get rid of me that easily. Where you go I go,” the younger said and pushed passed JinYoung through the opening. Mark smiled softly before he followed YoungJae through the entrance. Quickly, pushed JinYoung through the opening, leaving everything he knows behind.

  
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Following YuGyeom outside of the village turned out to be harder than expected. No longer was the younger sneaking around. Why would he? He believed to be alone.

They followed him down a man-made dirt path to a forest-like area where he began to follow a narrow looking river upstream. It instantly was clear that the younger knew the area they were walking through well, which made JinYoung wonder how many times YuGyeom had been sneaking around before. Every step the younger took was well planned. He made almost no noise too. Something the trio were struggling with. The soft muddy ground underneath their soles was foreign which made quiet and quickly walking on it not as easy as expected.

After a while YuGyeom crossed the river by wading through the water, which was moving strongly but the part he chose to cross did not look that deep, and continued running on the other side. YoungJae instantly stayed rooted where he was.  
“I don’t like this,” he said but Mark and JinYoung were already standing in the water. Silently they gestured to YoungJae to follow, which he grudgingly did. Slowly, the younger waded through the water. So slow that JinYoung impatiently started to grit his teeth as he feared losing YuGyeom’s trail. Mark instantly noticed JinYoung’s tense posture and tried to calm the younger down by loosely holding his hand to show that he’s there.

Once all three of them were standing on the other side they moved in the general direction they saw YuGyeom disappear. The soil occasionally helped them as his footsteps sometimes were visible there but because of the darkness around them and the leaves covering the ground, following them turned out to be an almost impossible task. Soon they reached another man-made dirt path which led further into the forest. Even though, the trio did not know if it was the right path to take they followed it. The further they got, however, the more hills and rocks came into view that hugged the path they’re on perfectly.

A few minutes later they got the well needed confirmation that YuGyeom was walking down the same path. A flickering machine, whose body was fully covered with white armor plating, was lying on the ground. It looked like a small theropod dinosaur with a long neck. It wasn’t one of the biggest machines out there. This one only seemed to be as big as an average human. Nevertheless, the sight of it sent a shock through the small group. They knew what it was. They’ve seen machines like this before. From afar. Never upclose. This was a _Watcher_. A beaten _Watcher_.

“It likely was beaten just a few moments ago. The parts are still there so I guess the plan was to come back and get them later” Mark said while inspecting the liveless machine a bit closer.  
YoungJae clasps JinYoung’s arm tightly. Worry was clearly visible on his face.  
“Do you think he’s… hunting? By himself? I hope he’s okay,” YoungJae said while clutching JinYoung’s arm even tighter.  
“Well… I think he’s doing better than this thing here,” Mark retorted and got up again.  
“Let’s go!” JinYoung merely said and pushed their group to move forwards.

To their utter surprise they soon saw a figure that looked like YuGyeom in the distance again. He crouched in a batch of tall grass close to the path and slowly moved forward. The three of them took this as a sign that it would be good to do the same. Quickly, they moved up a rocky hill on the other side and took cover there behind a big rock. Tall grass covered most of the hill which made it the perfect temporary hide out to observe. A big clearing opened up on the other side of their hill.

Silently they watched how YuGyeom moved forward. As far as JinYoung could see there were no machines in sight. He was glad that YuGyeom was cautious though. Especially since he’s alone. Once YuGyeom reached the clearing, the younger lifted his head and let out an owl's call. That… was weird.

The area fell silent again shortly after… up until a second whoot was heard. Was this a signal call? But who could YuGyeom signal to? The three of them watched the younger closely. He hadn’t moved since he had made the owl sound. Then a few feet further away from him something, or rather someone, lifted their head and let out another owl sound. YuGyeom must have seen the other person as he instantly moved forward to meet the other.

“What’s going on?” YoungJae asked after the two of them met up and duked down into the safety of the tall grass.  
“I don’t know but it looks planned,” JinYoung said while angling his head in hope to see exactly what’s going on. Neither YuGyeom nor the other person have reappeared yet. Something was not right.

“Guys… This is not good! Massively not good!” Mark suddenly whisper shouts in JinYoung’s ear while tightly grasping the other's arm. JinYoung just wanted to turn to his friend and ask him to calm down… but then he saw it too.

The first thing he saw were it’s bright blue glowing eyes. Well… not eyes. Those things do not have eyes but they are modeled as if they were eyes.  
It’s body appeared shortly after. The thing looked like a giant cat. However, JinYoung knew better. This was no cat. This thing just looked like a big machine cat; the long extinct saber-toothed cat. Like the cat it was modeled after, it is heavyset at the front, with a large, broad chest, neck and shoulders, powerful legs, and no tail. It’s mouth is equipped with a pair for curved, scimitar-like serrated spikes… just like the saber-toothed cat’s fangs. This was a _Sawtooth_. This was definitely not good!

A sudden movement to JinYoung’s right made him turn his head. Silently, they’ve gotten company. A young man, who did not look much older than JinYoung was crouched right next to them. He had broad shoulders and hair that was so long that it almost reached his shoulders. The stranger looked strong as well. All in all a handsome looking man.

The strangers' eyes were set on the clearing in front of them. They followed the _Sawtooth's_ movement before he let his eyes wander to JinYoung and his friends. He quickly eyed the boys and then their weapons. He furrowed his brow before letting out an equal sounding owl cry.

JinYoung’s eyes did not leave the strangers face. There! Next to those twin moles over his left eye was a signature Nora tribe face paint. Their face paint. However, instead of it being blue it was white. This young man was an _Outcast_.


End file.
